A minimum wage increase approved by the Louisville Metro Council has been struck down by Kentucky's Supreme Court. The decision also means Lexington’s minimum wage hike has been invalidated.
In a 6-1 ruling Thursday, court said the ordinance is "invalid and unenforceable."
Louisville's council voted nearly two years ago to increase workers' wages to $9 per hour, phasing in the increases. Louisville became the first Kentucky city to increase minimum wages above the federal level of $7.25 an hour.
Louisville's ordinance was challenged in court by the Kentucky Restaurant Association, the Kentucky Retail Federation and local employer Packaging Unlimited.
In writing for the court's majority, Justice Bill Cunningham said the ordinance's conflict with state law is "precisely the type of 'conflict' prohibited by the state Constitution. His opinion drew a dissent from Justice Samuel T. Wright III.
A statement from Lexington Mayor Jim Gray’s office reads: “This opinion effectively prevents cities, including Lexington, from increasing the minimum wage. Lexington’s local minimum wage ordinance has been invalidated.”
